Saturday, March 31, 2012

we are both sore. and both tired. jambaloney fell asleep in his chair reading his book a little while ago - i really wanted to wake him and move him to the bed but he is out cold and i don't want to disturb him. we have been painting our kitchen cupboards, hauling rocks, shovelling over our compost heap, getting the seed starting tray ready and a bunch of other things over the past week. we are both sore and tired!

we went to bed late last night as both of us were too sore to lay down in bed - bahahahah - isn't that crazy-sounding? even with many trips to the hottub over the past few days and nights, we are still sore from being cramped up trying to paint the crappy cupboards - 3 coats of primer and 2 coats of white paint - ugh! and then last night apparently i was sleep-talking about food to jambaloney. he told me that i woke him 3 times from a dead sleep talking about nonsense - something that i have done since i was a child. i sleepwalk, too!

whenever i sleeptalk or sleepwalk it means that i didn't get a good night's rest. same for poor jambaloney - why he puts up with me, i'll never know? maybe it's because i make a mean stir-fry, or maybe it's because i bought him a canoe! anyway, i didn't sleep well and neither did he, what with me waking him up 3 times! and then at some point in the night our mouser, barrel, brought in a weasel. a beautiful, white one according to jambaloney - i didn't see it thank goodness. our other cat noodle woke up jambaloney at about 5am, playing with the weasel! jambaloney picked it up and brought it to a safe place outside and we are not certain if it is dead or just in shock. i don't want to go and look and see if it is still there. i hope it got over it's shock and is frolicking in the forest now.

i was sitting at my computer reading some blogs and realized just how cramped and sore i felt. so i went out and got in the hottub. it's a really gorgeous day out there - the birds are really feeling spring in the air and are chirping like mad! i have daylillies in pots that are popping their green heads out of the dirt. the air smells wonderful! i got in the hottub and relaxed my poor, sore, arthritic hands. it felt wonderful.

the only thing missing was jambaloney. he's still flopped in his big, comfy chair and out cold. poor guy is so tired. i am not going to let him do any jobs today - i will take him for a nice walk down to the river later though. and i am going to go and make him some dinner in a few. the smell of food cooking always wakes him.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

we had a couple of super hot days last week and one afternoon i took a quick walk to the river - it takes a few minutes - there's home circled in red ;-)

you can see some ruts in the road... there are some low lying and soggy spots that require more drainage. i figured it was a good day to start. in the below pic you can see the water across the road just before the shore. the ditch on the right hand side is today's little project as water trickles from the left to the right.

here is a better pic as it nears the river.

and right where it meets the river grass has created a dam. the drop is about a foot which is significant.

here is a close-up, nothing a few minutes with the shovel can't fix!

and sure enough water starts to flow!!

i let that get started and walked around a bit to enjoy the ice melting.

i came back, cleared some more debris and stomped it down a bit to make a solid channel. i got my first soaker of the year!!! my mom will appreciate that as a sign spring has arrived, i ALWAYS had wet feet in march ;-)

the right hand ditch needs a bit more effort - yep, i chose the easy job this day - you can see the canoe ready to go fishing when the season starts - can't wait!!!

on the way back, i found some tracks - either a HUGE deer or a moose - can't tell for sure but it's always nice to see the visitors leave their trail.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

there are a lot of reasons why i like blogging. i really like meeting new people from all over the place - if you notice our visitors list on the right-hand side of this page, you will see that we get them from all over. i like that. it makes me happy.

i also really like learning new things from reading others' blogs, and of course - i love it when people leave comments! i love that there is quite a rag-tag group of us that have formed here and on others' blogs and we have all become friends and support each other. there are also a lot of regular people here, and on others' blogs, that don't have blogs themselves but always leave supportive comments and are part of the group. it's a nice feeling to have what feels like extended family out there on the interwebs.

our friend Stephen encouraged us to start a blog. he has recently suffered some illnesses and spent several weeks in the hospital. our group of friends were very concerned - but our dear friend Duke kept us all informed on how Stephen was doing. and then Stephen was able to update us through his blog - even when in the hospital!!! there's a reason for liking blogging right there! Stephen was back in the hospital the other night and of course our dear friend Duke kept us all informed - he's very reliable that Duke! and a great friend! another reason to like blogging. Stephen is doing much better now - i know this because of his recent post on his blog - from the hospital, no less.

several friends in the blogging world have suffered illnesses, surgeries and sicknesses since we first started blogging. everyone has been encouraging, sending uplifting messages and praying - it is an awesome feeling to know that you are praying with a group of other people who are praying with you. it is an even more awesome feeling to know that people are sending you healing vibes and praying for you - i know how this feels firsthand as many of you are the reason why i was able to make it through the first few days of jambaloney being hurt last october - your support and prayers meant the world to me! another reason to like blogging!

then there are those of you out there that i now communicate through email with. how wonderful! and i would have never met you if not for blogging! add to that the number of people who have shared their physical addresses with us, and we have shared ours - for in the event of SHTF! imagine, total strangers offering us safe haven! and we have shared our physical address and will with anyone who wants it! another reason i like blogging!

and then i meet a new friend. who starts a blog. and is interested in sharing seeds. Beth jumped on the opportunity to send me bergamot seeds when she learned that i was searching high and low for some. not only bergamot, she sent me brown mustard, navajo tea, clove basil, and hopi blue corn! see pic below:

it is so nice to receive a gift from someone you have never met in person! it is wonderful to receive a package full of treasures! Beth asked me to send her hopi red dye amaranth, stevia, window box roma tomatoes, jade cross brussel sprouts and light red kidney beans in return. Beth, the seeds are all packaged up and jambaloney will take them to the post office on thursday. i can't wait until you get them as i threw in 5 other kinds of seed that i hope that you will enjoy! i can't wait until you get them.

all of this to say that i really like blogging. it has opened up a whole new world for me and jambaloney. we are making some really great friends - just check our blog list - everyone listed there is someone worth getting to know!

if anyone is interested in exchanging seeds - let me know. check out our inventory of herb seed here and veg seed here. i have a lot of seed to share, but in some instances i only have a few of a particular seed and plan on saving all seed from this year's harvest. but if i have seed to spare, i will gladly send some to you...like Beth did. and i will gladly share on a regular basis if anyone is interested.

we also made up a little package for Stephen, his Sweet Wife and Little Bit today. and finally got around to mailing a card to Mystic Mud as she sent us a sweet one. as well as getting Beth's package of seeds ready. we both really enjoyed doing that! if you would like to send letters or cards to us - we would be glad to do the same with any of you. it felt nice to make packages to send to our friends. you can contact me at "kymberzmail@gmail.com".

Helga - you are sooo right about enjoying making up and sending packages! i am sending you our mailing address as soon as i post this! and i'll need yours in order to make up a little package for you!

all in all, i really like blogging. for a variety of reasons. these are just a few!

Monday, March 26, 2012

(blogger is acting up yet again - i have been trying to post this msg all day!)

we have just received some bad news. our friend, Stephen, is in the hospital. our friend, Duke, will keep us all updated as he always does. Stephen has been through quite a bit this past few months, but we know that he is strong. let's all of us pray for him to recover and recover quickly - he gets pretty stir-crazy when he's not able to be out and about! we believe that prayers really work - and we would appreciate your prayers for him, his Sweet Wife and his Little Bit. let's use our prayers and get him better!

About Framboise Manor

Framboise Manor is our Bug-Out Location (BOL) that we have been living in since December 2010. As can be seen by the above picture - calling it simply a "Manor" doesn't do it justice - we bet you think it is more like an "Estate", eh?

Check out our Recipe Blog!

Search This Blog

CONTACT US

Who Are We?

we are jambaloney and kymber. here's a pic of us below...we look very happy and content. it's because we really are!

About jambaloney

(he's only 23 in this pic...he has 20+years of additional muscle now...if you can believe it!)

kymber here and talking about jambaloney.

i've always called him my angel. my rock. my best half. the best part of what i have always wanted to become.

he has a soul as big as the biggest mountain, he is strong, he is in incredible physical condition, he is 51 and yet most people think he is under 40. he is humble and modest, charming, gorgeous and will help anyone with anything at anytime. he never grumbles and only every now and again complains or is a tiny bit cranky (nothing that a hug can't fix!). he can cut both sides out of 70 tires in minutes, build raised beds from scrap wood that he drags out of the forest, weedwhack 800ft of our road down to the river, and haul more wheelbarrows of dirt, mulch, rocks and seaweed than is probably medically-advised. he's learned how to braid, make bread and no one makes better rice - not even the chinese. he supports my every, crazy endevour. he went 44 years without a driver's license and got his license after being trained by my crazily-wonderful french canadian friend in 2 weeks. she never stopped talking the whole time. in french.

he has biked everywhere his entire life, at one job he biked 24km EACH WAY. that's to and from! 24km to work AND 24km from work! oh and just accidentally has an honours degree in philosophy.

i believe that he is Our Lord's most beautiful and perfect creation. but i might be biased. he can very accurately shoot a ben pearson cougar re-curve from both the left and right. and his aim is dead on.

he is bow-legged and only 5'7", but has the most incredible eyes. and a tiny mole on his upper lip. he writes the most romantic "insta-poems". he tells me he loves me several times a day. he calls me "babe" and "honey". and he means it.he loves hot sauce and spicey things like cayenne and banana peppers, he buys (or now picks) me flowers, he left a lucrative, high-paying IT job and his family to follow me here to this remote little island. he builds me shelves and washes all of our laundry with me by hand.

oh and he was baptized Anglican. and was an alter boy. sheesh. somehow, through my intervention, i am turning him into a pagan-christian-fundamentalist-confuscian. look, even i can't figure that out!

the name jambaloney is a nickname that i gave him over 10 years ago. he still uses it. he can be reached at "jambaloney@gmail.com". he loves comments or emails. and he loves me.

if i were given the opportunity to wish one thing for the world - i would wish that every woman on the planet had a jambaloney. i know that i could save the world this way. i have friends who have asked me to clone him. i am trying. believe me, i am trying. one day i will perfect the science involved, and when that happens, i promise all of you a jambaloney.

i love him more than...breathing, lobster, boiled dinner, fresh bread out of the oven, bugging out, singing back up for Madonna (ok...i made that one up!), fresh sheets on the bed, a glass of red wine after a long day, sunflower seeds, lavender, growing my own potatoes, T.S. Eliot, dancing, my babies (who are really just cranky old cats!) and the Bible.

i love him more than i love Framboise Manor. and i really love Framboise Manor.

About kymber

(this pic might seem odd. trust me, it's not. 20 yrs ago kymber went shopping with a girlfriend from the military and bought this dress. then she hooked up with that girlfriend recently. they caught up through email and one day kymberz friend mentioned that specific dress. kymber said she still had it (kymber still has her prom gown for crying out loud!). the friend did not believe it. so we had to take a pic of kymber wearing the 20yr old dress for her friend. kymber always likes to add accessories...and well, we had the bunny ears laying around. ya know, cuz everyone always has pink bunny ears laying around. ok, that's it...i am out of here! jambaloney)

what can i say about kymber?? A LOT!!most of it will have to wait for blog entries ‘cuz i just don’t have enough space here to do her justice…

so i’ll have to do my best… first and foremost, kymber is my partner and i will love her forever. she is the best partner anyone could ever have, i am one lucky guy!! she is 46, she is sweet as can be, smart as a whip, super cute, exceptionally feminine, strong as an ox, honest, kind, empathetic, wise, an amazing dancer, a master wit in speaking and writing….i could go on..i will!

at 5’ 1’’ she packs a wallop – a true force of nature -she is a master gardener and chef and spent 10 years in the Canadian Military – she has done 2 tours of Alert (the north bloody-cold pole). she is a UN-certified Korean linguist and spoils our 2 cats rotten. she also spent 12yrs working in the federal government, as a communications analyst at SolGen (now PSEPC) and Fintrac. she loves nature in the true sense of the phrase..the wildflowers, insects and birds here at framboise manor keep her entranced and captivated for hours.

anyone who is her friend knows that she will stop at nothing to help and heal, dedication and loyalty are an integral part of who she is and she is dead serious about anything she puts her mind to. yet she maintains the most delicate touch and a smile on her face always, never afraid to live and love no matter where and when.

she is the most genuine human being i have ever met! and she has encouraged me to embark on the most crazy and exciting adventure i could imagine… thank you babe - i sooo love you!!!